MORE than £11,000 will be invested in Tavistock Pannier Market's lights this year, in a spend to save initiative backed by the town council.

Works superintendent Wayne Southall last week recommended to members of the council's properties committee that £10,203 should be drawn down from reserves to buy LED lights for the market, which would also cost an additional £1,750 to install.

He said: 'Basically, we are reviewing lighting costs across the council as a whole. To replace all the existing lighting stock in the pannier market, we anticipate would give a saving of more than £3,000 a year to run, with a life expectancy of ten to eleven years.'

The current annual expenditure on lights in the pannier market is £5,533 — if all 222 lights were replaced by LED bulbs, it would fall to £1,926.50.

Cllr Brian Trew said: 'It would be silly not to do it, even if it's coming from the reserves — I propose we go with it.'

The committee agreed the recommendation, which was ratified by the full council at its meeting last Wednesday night.